First UK Retail Impact Investing Review for financial advisers published

Worthstone, the impact investment hub for financial advisers, has released the first ever UK Retail Impact Investing Review for financial advisers.

The review contains analysis of the spectrum of impact investment funds registered for sale to UK retail investors and provides a comprehensive view of the impact landscape. The review is the result of a new collaboration between Worthstone and 3D Investing, which brings together market leading expertise in the UK social and impact investing sector for the benefit of Worthstone partners and subscribers.

Impact Investing has been gaining momentum in the UK and overseas for the last few years. It introduces a third dimension into investment analysis – assessing the societal and environmental impact of an investment alongside analysing risk and return. There is an impact dimension to every investment decision we (or our clients) make but traditionally we haven’t been able to quantify or understand what this means for mainstream investments.

This review shows that there is a sizeable universe of funds available to UK retail investors that are targeting positive impact – across asset classes and impact category. The review illustrates how impact focus can vary across funds which are often marketed under similar banners – illustrating the need for adviser research and thorough product due diligence to understand the underlying specifics of each fund in the impact universe.

The review also illustrates that investors do not have to trade-off between realising positive impact and achieving competitive market rate returns. Investors have the opportunity to hold diversified multi-asset portfolios, achieve competitive returns and positive impact through their investments. We believe such a proposition is compelling to many UK retail investors evidenced by various research reports that confirm high interest levels in impact investing likely to lead to increased growth over time.

Gavin Francis, CEO of Worthstone said:

“This comprehensive review of the UK impact market establishes that a fundamental building block is in place for the market to breach the mainstream as it is now possible to build a multi-asset portfolio using funds which have a positive impact dimension.”

John Fleetwood, Founder of 3D Investing said:

“We believe that investors want to do good with their money as well as meeting their financial objectives. Our aim is to help advisors and asset managers to identify those funds that maximise their positive impact whilst making money.”

James King, Managing Director of PB Financial Planning said:

“More and more of our clients want to not only make positive financial returns, but also make a positive impact with their money. The difficulty for advisers is where do we get the information we need? My hope is that the UK Retail Impact Investing Review will help us.”

Graham Cross, Managing Director of Helm Godfrey said:

“Having a reliable and trustworthy source of research and due diligence in this complex area is essential. I am delighted that Worthstone and 3D Investing have produced this Review, helping Helm Godfrey and other advisory firms have a better understanding of funds aligned with our clients’ social objectives.”

Worthstone aim to help financial advisers, help their clients, generate more positive social impact from their investments. Impact is generated in every investment decision, either positive or negative. We are the go-to place for a broad spectrum of financial planners and wealth managers, who seek to offer impact investment advice to their clients. We are a hub of specialist expertise that provides outsourced resource and practical tools, to enable firms to offer a solution to intelligent capital holders for whom seeking alignment between their investments and their values has become a paramount consideration.

3D Investing is a distinctive way of investing that seeks to do good, avoid harm and make money. 3D Investing is a trading style of Ethical Money Limited which was founded by John Fleetwood in 2014, following many years of experience in ethical investment dating back to 1991.John was one of the first advisers to focus on ethical investment and was also at the forefront of developing personalised portfolio services for ethical investors. He is the author of several guides to sustainable investing.

Ethical Money provides sustainable investment research for investment management companies including analysis of ethical and sustainable investment funds, direct equities and bonds. This research is used to help build model portfolios as well as personalised discretionary portfolios. Impact reporting is also provided to demonstrate the actual positive impact of model portfolios.